Sports | Baseball, softball » Vinnie Rotondaro - The Motion of a Baseball

Source: http://doksi.net The Motion of a Baseball The Motion of a Baseball By Vinnie Rotondaro A tall, gangly baseball pitcher with skinny arms and legs pitches a baseball. The ball is shooting through the air, going nearly 100 miles per hour towards home base, and the batter is crouched over, arm muscles flexed, ready to swing. The batter hits the ball with all his might, and it starts going the other way – way, way, far away. The ball takes off and starts flying up high in the sky, making its way out of the park. It is up there in the air with the birds and the clouds, shiny bright white in the light of the sun. The batter knows that he hit a homer. He watches the ball for a second, and admires how it looks up there, arching through the sky. The pitcher knows he got beat and hangs his head The batter smiles and drops his bat. He begins to run to first base The pitcher is upset with himself, and kicks the pitching mound with his foot. A little puff of dust pops up and blows in

the wind. The batter circles to second base By this point the ball has gone out of the park The crowd is cheering. The batter rounds third base and jogs home All his teammates are waiting for him there. They give him hi-fives and pats on the back He knows he really did it He hit that ball. It was going one way, and he made it go the other – all the way out of the park 2013 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved Source: http://doksi.net Questions: The Motion of a Baseball Name: Date: 1. What does the batter hit with his bat? A B C D the pitcher a baseball a teammate a bird 2. Where does the story take place? A B C D in a baseball stadium in a baseball factory at a school on a city street 3. The pitcher is upset with himself What evidence from the text supports this statement? A B C D The pitcher throws the ball at 100 miles per hour. The pitcher is tall and gangly with skinny arms and legs. The batter ran to first base. He hangs his

head and kicks the pitching mound. 4. Why didn’t the batter start running immediately after hitting the ball? A because he is a fast runner and knows he will be able to easily run to home base B because he was distracted by the ball flying through the air that one of his teammates hit C because he knew he hit a home run and wanted to admire the way the ball arched through the sky D because he was slow to react and didn’t realize he had to run until a few moments later 1 2013 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved Source: http://doksi.net Questions: The Motion of a Baseball 5. What is this passage mostly about? A B C D a a a a baseball bat home run pitcher baseball team 6. Read the following sentence: “The batter hits the ball with all his might, and it starts going the other way – way, way, far away.” Why does the author describe the ball as flying “way, way, far away”? A B C D to to to to emphasize how far the baseball flew imitate the noise the ball made when

it hit the bat remind the reader that the pitcher threw the ball give a precise estimate of the distance 7. Choose the answer that best completes the sentence below First the pitcher threw the baseball, the batter hit it with the bat. A B C D but also like then 8. What do the batter’s teammates do when he returns to home base? 2 2013 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved Source: http://doksi.net 9. What happens when the batter hits the baseball? Questions: The Motion of a Baseball

10. Imagine that you are the batter in this story The pitcher throws a ball at you, and you hit it. If the ball was travelling from north to south when the pitcher threw it, which direction would the ball most likely travel in after you hit it? 3 2013 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved Source: http://doksi.net Teacher Guide & Answers: The Motion of a Baseball Teacher Guide & Answers Passage Reading Level: Lexile 900 1. What does the batter hit with his bat? A B C D the pitcher a baseball a teammate a bird 2. Where does the story take place? A B C D in a baseball stadium in a baseball factory at a school on a

city street 3. The pitcher is upset with himself What evidence from the text supports this statement? A B C D The pitcher throws the ball at 100 miles per hour. The pitcher is tall and gangly with skinny arms and legs. The batter ran to first base. He hangs his head and kicks the pitching mound. 4. Why didn’t the batter start running immediately after hitting the ball? A B C because he is a fast runner and knows he will be able to easily run to home base because he was distracted by the ball flying through the air that one of his teammates hit because he knew he hit a home run and wanted to admire the way the ball arched through the sky D because he was slow to react and didn’t realize he had to run until a few moments later 5. What is this passage mostly about? A B C D a baseball bat a home run a pitcher a baseball team 1 2013 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved Source: http://doksi.net Teacher Guide & Answers: The Motion of a Baseball 6. Read the following

sentence: “The batter hits the ball with all his might, and it starts going the other way – way, way, far away.” Why does the author describe the ball as flying “way, way, far away”? A B C D to emphasize how far the baseball flew to imitate the noise the ball made when it hit the bat to remind the reader that the pitcher threw the ball to give a precise estimate of the distance 7. Choose the answer that best completes the sentence below First the pitcher threw the baseball, the batter hit it with the bat. A B C D but also like then 8. What do the batter’s teammates do when he returns to home base? Suggested answer: When the batter returns to home base, his teammates give him hi-fives and pats on the back. 9. What happens when the batter hits the baseball? Suggested answer: When the batter hits the baseball, the ball starts flying in the opposite direction, flying up high in the sky. 10. Imagine that you are the batter in this story The pitcher throws a ball at

you, and you hit it If the ball was travelling from north to south when the pitcher threw it, which direction would the ball most likely travel in after you hit it? Suggested answer: The ball would be travelling from south to north after you hit it. 2 2013 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved